NPR News Now - NPR News: 08-18-2025 5PM EDT

Episode Date: August 18, 2025

NPR News: 08-18-2025 5PM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. President Trump is hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the leaders of several European nations this hour at the White House. The meeting comes just three days after Trump met face-to-face with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Trump says that meeting laid the groundwork for a broader deal to end the war in Ukraine. The Alaska Summit reinforced my belief that while difficult pieces within reach, I believe that in a very significant step, President Putin agreed that Russia would accept security guarantees for Ukraine.

And this is one of the key points that we need to consider. And we're going to be considering that at the table also. Trump is also calling for a three-way summit between the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia. So far, the Kremlin has not agreed to take part. The president is also calling for the release of more than a thousand Ukrainian prisoners as part of the potential deal. Dozens of FBI agents have been fired or forced to resign since President Trump took office this year. But NPRs Kerry Johnson reports it's the way they're being removed that concerns some veterans at the Bureau. The Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI wants the Trump administration to explain why it fired a batch of senior FBI agents and officials this month.

Mike Clark's president of the Society, he says those agents are owed due process under the law. They're all exceptional agents and individuals and deserve better treatment. Among those who recently left the Bureau are former acting director Brian Driscoll and former head of the Washington Field Office, Steve Jensen. Others dismissed include two seasoned agents not yet eligible for a pension. Friends have started an online fundraiser for those men. Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington. Several big retailers are set to release their quarterly numbers this week.

NPR's Scott Horsley Report. the news could carry a signal about the strength of consumer spending, which is the biggest driver of the U.S. economy. Walmart, Home Depot, and Target stores all report their quarterly earnings this week. Investors will be listening for clues about how shoppers are spending money and possible price hikes. Wholesale prices jumped more than expected last month. Retail sales rose by half a percent.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks on Friday at the annual Jackson Hull Conference of Economists and Central Bankers. The Fed's nearly finished with its long-range policy. review, which it does once every five years. Back in 2020, the central bank said it would not raise interest rates preemptively just because of a tight job market. But after several years of inflation, that's above target, the Fed's strategy could shift to underscore the importance of stable prices. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. Stocks traded mixed on Wall Street today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 34 points at the close. The NASDAQ composite up six

points. This is NPR News from Washington. Mandatory evacuation orders are in place for parts of North Carolina's Outer Banks, as Hurricane Erin pushes its way closer to the coast. The storm began as a tropical system before rapidly intensifying into a Category 5 hurricane. Aaron slammed the Caribbean earlier today and is now headed toward the U.S. at Category 4 Strength. The leaders of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize have agreed to create a massive new nature preserve. NPR's Ata Peralta reports it covers 14 million acres of the Mayan rainforest. The three heads of state signed the agreement in southern Mexico near Kalakmul,

an important Mayan archaeological site that sits in the middle of a jungle. Mexico's president, Claudio Schaimbaum, said the area represents the second biggest nature preserve in the Americas following the Amazon rainforest. Sheenbaum said the expansive jungle is much more than a preserve. Sheimam said the area represents lungs for our planet, a home to thousands of animal species, and the heart of, quote, an invaluable cultural legacy that she says must be preserved for the future.

Adapralta, NPR News, Mexico City. MSNBC says it's planning to change its name later this year. The decision is part of the cable news network separation from NBC. The new name will be MSNL, which stands for My Source News Opinion World. NBC was originally launched in 1996 in partnership with Microsoft. I'm Windsor Johnston, NPR News, in Washington.